evanescence
by Her Pretty Smile
Summary: —au. she's a dark angel who takes souls out of dying people and collects their hearts. he's one of those certain people, but he begs her to let him live for forty-nine days so that he can fulfill his goal. she agrees, but only on the condition that she has to always be by his side. and so, the search for the killer now begins; who might it be? grayღultear; slight lyonღjuvia.
1. ღprologueღ

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**evanescence**

by herprettysmile

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**synopsis:** au. she's a dark angel who takes souls out of dying people and collects their hearts. he's one of those certain people, but he begs her to let him live for forty-nine days so that he can fulfill his goal. she agrees, but only on the condition that she has to always be by his side. gray/ultear.

**warning:** unbeta-ed.

**disclaimer:** fairy tail isn't mine.

**claimer:** .iownevanescene.

**a/n: **to my readers, I used a different style, a different flow of words that contrast with the way I usually use, so be prepared a little bit. also, I revised this chapter because I found some errors, so this has been reposted.

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p.r.o.l.o.g.u.e.

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.thedifferentcoloursoftheafterlife.

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WHEN HE OPENED HIS eyes, he saw black.

Black, black, _black_ everywhere.

Reaching out with his pale hand, he tried to touch the freely-flowing black mist surrounding him, slightly awed by the wonder of it all.

_Where am I?_

He blinked; it was like he was still in the claws of sleep. There was no light.

There was nothing. _Nothing_ at all.

Strangely, it didn't mean anything to him. Instead, he felt comforted by the solace of the darkness, by the sheer enormity of its peaceful, suffocating presence that threatened to engulf him whole.

_Who am I?_

He asked himself the same question over and over, albeit not meaningfully.

_Who am I?_

_Who am I...?_

_WhoamIWhoamIWhoamIWhoamI_—

Suddenly he felt it.

A strange feeling as smooth as a silk blanket swept over him, slowly solidifying into a shape that hovered above him.

Not long had passed before it took into the form of a woman, a female about three or four years older than him. She had long, silky dark hair that fell upon him softly, fathomless onyx eyes like gems of the night, pale, smooth skin, and elegant, refined features.

She stared down at him emotionlessly. Then, she proceeded to place her lips onto his, intent on taking his soul.

He did not feel anything.

He was dead, after all.

But then something flickered inside him, something _different_ and _overwhelming_ and _powerful_—

She pulled away from him slowly, her dark eyes probing. "I can sense your troubled thoughts." Her voice was like velvet. "They shout at me like desperate cries."

He stared at her in wonder mixed with determination. "Who are you? Who... _Who am I_?"

"I am the angel of death, Ultear. You, on the other hand, were called Gray Fullbuster, an eighteen-year-old student whose mother had died when he was little. You were distant with your older brother, you were chased around by a girl with obsession issues, and you were in love with a girl who never knew about your feelings."

He noticed that she was using past tense when she was referring to him. _So I really am dead... _he thought emptily._ There's no turning back..._

"You want to live," she stated. There was no sign or indication of a condescending or mocking tone in her voice, only pure emptiness like a void.

"...Can I?" he asked quietly.

She pulled away from him and stood gracefully in her position, her flowing black-and-white gown silky smooth as it adjusted to the motion of her sudden movement. "It depends," she replied.

He sat up, looking at her curiously. "Can you elaborate on that?"

She gave an inaudible, almost imperceptible sigh. "You cannot live again, Gray Fullbuster. You've died already. I was just about to take your soul earlier when your thoughts interrupted me."

"They must've been pretty important to you for you to stop doing what you're supposed to do."

"Supposed to do?" Her gaze was like a sharp, glinting knife. "I am the ruler of souls. I can do what I want to do, Gray Fullbuster. No one orders me around."

"Then you have the power to let me live again."

"That is nearly impossible. It will disrupt the balance between life and death."

"But I have to find out who my killer is," he reasoned, his voice nearly bordering on desperation. "It's important to me. I can't allow him to go free."

"So you're saying that you want to live because of revenge?" Her voice held an edge of distaste.

"It's not exactly revenge! It's because—"

Her steely voice interrupted, "Fine then. You can live again. But remember this: you can only live for forty-nine days, and forty-nine days at most. No extensions."

The immense relief he felt was deeply reassuring. "Thank y—"

"There is only one condition," she interrupted yet again.

He nodded. "What is it?"

"I shall watch over you while you live your life."

"...Why is that?"

She sent him a cold stare. "To make sure that you will not tell anyone about you living again because of me."

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.prologue.

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.tobecontinued.

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**a/n:** and that's a wrap. the end. stay tuned for the next one.


	2. ღday 1ღ

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**evanescence**

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USUALLY, WHENEVER GRAY WOKE up, he saw bright lights striking his vision and also some blurry furniture in the surroundings. At times, of course, there were people.

But this time, when he opened his eyes, what he didn't expect was to see _white_.

White, white, _white_ _everywhere._

It was disorienting to the mind; the colour contrasted so deeply and completely to the darkness he'd been to.

_Darkness..._

_Black..._

_Angel..._

He sat up instantly, the memories resurfacing inside his head and flashing forward with the speed of light.

_Ultear._

"Gray?" a familiar voice inquired in surprise.

Aforementioned person jolted and turned to the source, realizing that it was his older brother Lyon.

Pure, unadulterated relief filled the latter's features. "Oh, thank goodness you're awake, Gray. I was worried."

Gray looked at him in confusion. "How... How long was I out? Why... Why are you here, Lyon?"

"Four days," Lyon replied. "You were in a comatose state, but the doctor said that you were dead. I didn't believe him of course." His eyes softened the slightest bit. "Because I knew that you'd never lose to something like this."

Gray felt a slight lump in his throat. It all felt so surreal and sad; he finally felt his brother's care for him, but he was going to die in forty-nine days.

It would've been nice to get along with him for a lifetime.

"Gray-sama!" a familiar voice shouted suddenly, resounding in the hallways outside. Then, after a nanosecond, the door opened hastily, revealing a messy-haired, wide-eyed Juvia.

"Oh, Gray-sama, you're safe!" she cried out, tears pooling her eyes as she hugged him tightly. "Juvia was so worried that—"

She was cut off when he patted her gently yet awkwardly on the back, seemingly looking unsure of what to make of this situation.

"I'm... all right... Juvia," he managed to say carefully.

Lyon was watching him with probing, inquisitive eyes.

When Juvia left a few moments later, Lyon turned his full attention to Gray.

"Gray..." he said slowly, "...your hand. What happened to it?"

"Huh?" Blinking in confusion, Gray looked down at his hand—

—and his eyes grew wide in shock at what he saw.

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LIFE HAD ALWAYS BEEN a mystery to Gray. The people living on Earth were pieces of a puzzle. The way the world truly worked was an enigma. The cycles of life were an unknown mystery.

And the existence of things that are not of this world was instantly responded with cynical disbelief.

Since he always had the principle 'seeing is believing', he did not have a trace of doubt in his mind that the dark angel who had appeared before him in the black mist was real. What happened seemed so surreal, but his mind argued that all of it was real.

"I have granted you your wish," a familiar voice said emotionlessly.

Gray jolted, sitting up instantly on his bed. "What the—it's _you_!"

Ultear crossed her arms in front of her chest, her expression showing the slightest bit of annoyance mixed with distaste. "Yes, it is me," she replied dryly. "Don't tell me you have forgotten about your request of me and the condition that comes with it."

He blinked. "Uh, no... I remember... I remember all of it." His gaze slowly averted towards the white marble floor. "There's just one thing I don't understand."

She lifted an eyebrow at him.

"...If I would ever tell someone, they wouldn't believe me anyway. And I'm sure that once I do, you'll kill me once again. So... why do you really want to be... by my side?" His gaze slowly lifted to meet her empty eyes. "So that I won't screw up?"

She gave an indiscernible frown. "No. I want to be by your side because you have my soul."

His eyes widened. "I... have your soul...?"

"Yes, that is correct." She sighed quietly. "I did not want to tell you this, but it cannot be helped. You are not an idiot, after all."

He cringed slightly at her last statement.

"To bring you back to life, I had to give you my soul because yours has weakened drastically due to your death," she continued on. "Angels do have souls after all, but what they do not have..." She sent him an indifferent glance. "...is a _heart_."

He stared at her. "Are you serious?" he blurted out.

She did not give the slightest bit of reaction and instead walked over to him with her mesmerizing grace and poise, extending her pale hand towards him.

"Give me your hand."

He obeyed.

Wordlessly, she took it in hers—he felt the transparency and the coldness of the touch and he flinched inwardly—and placed it on her chest.

His eyes widened.

_Nothing..._

There was something like...

_Like a void_—

—_in her chest._

There was _nothing._

_Like emptiness._

_Like an existing fathomless hole._

"Do you believe me now, Gray Fullbuster?" Her dark eyes narrowed slightly. "I cannot be away from you for even a short period of time. Otherwise, I will weaken and eventually disappear."

_Like an_—

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—_evanescence._

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BEING DISCHARGED FROM THE hospital was like being free from chains binding him to a suffocating cage. The doctors and the nurses there had insisted on making him stay a while longer since he hadn't fully recovered from his injuries, but—

_No time._

_49 days._

_1176 hours._

_70560 minutes._

_4233600 seconds_—

—_and counting._

There was no time.

_No time at all._

"Where are you going to live, then?" he asked.

"Your abode, obviously."

"_What_?! But my mother—"

"Then I will secretly sleep inside your room or your closet."

She received a bewildered, incredulous look.

She sighed quietly. "Since I gave you my soul, I have nothing left inside of me. But I am not meant to disappear because I am close to you, therefore being closer to my own soul gives me the life I need." Her eyes narrowed. "However, even if I am still an angel whose touch is transparent to humans, as a result of giving away my soul, I am starting to become a mortal with needs."

He processed all of this in his head. "So... then... who's doing your job?"

She looked at him. "I extended the dead's time in the dimension between life and death so that they will not come to me within forty-nine days."

"The dimension between life and death?"

"It is a place where the dead are sent for moving on purposes. Those who have regrets when they die especially. But..." Her stare bore into him. "...there are some special cases where a dead person has regrets but is sent directly to me instead of the dimension."

Her words hit him like a ton of bricks. "Wait... You mean... _me_?"

"Yes, Gray Fullbuster. You are one of those special cases." Her gaze inconspicuously averted towards the ground. "You and one other person."

"Then that means... you've done this before?"

Surprisingly, she had a faraway look on her face. "Yes... I had also given him forty-nine days, but..." Her voice trailed off.

Sensing that this was some kind of delicate, classified topic they were treading on, Gray fell silent and placed a hand on her shoulder.

—or tried to, anyway.

His eyes widened as he witnessed his hand pass through her like a ghost.

_Transparent_—

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—_like an evanescence._

She looked completely unfazed by this. "You cannot touch me, Gray Fullbuster, and I cannot touch you."

"B—But _why_? _How_?" he sputtered out in disbelief. "You—You touched me back at the hospital! And I... I touched you, too."

"We can only touch each other if both of us deeply want to." Her steely gaze rested on him, unnerving him with its emptiness. "Back at the hospital, I wanted to touch you in order to show you proof. Deep inside, you allowed me, and I allowed you."

His mind was spinning. "I don't understand."

"The reason why you cannot touch me is because I do not want and am not allowed to be touched. I am a dark angel. I am bathed in darkness. I am touched only when I allow it to. I am not like the other angels who are bathed in light. I absorb souls and send them to Heaven or Hell. That is my duty." Something flickered in her eyes—he could not comprehend what it was due to it disappearing as quickly as it came. "However, I can do anything I want with the souls. I am Judgement himself."

"Then... God exists?" he asked.

"Yes, he does. He is our Lord, and He is always watching over us." Loyalty and respect coloured her voice. "He has entrusted responsibility to me, and I will not fail him in any way." She gave him a look. "Because I gave you my soul, for the next forty-nine days, I am your superior, and you will not push me away. Are we clear on that?"

He nodded, understanding. "Yeah. But hey," he added, "what about those dead people who don't have regrets?"

"I had no choice but to send them to the dimension."

"Oh..."

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_Official Start of Day 1_

Monday, 6:30AM

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THE SUN'S RAYS SEEPED through the curtains, the brightness causing him to open his eyes groggily.

He reluctantly sat up in bed, blinking slowly while adjusting to his surroundings. Being dead once made him appreciate the little things, the small details, and even the tiniest of accomplishments in life. It was hard to accept that he wasn't going to live in this world after his time was up, but he reminded himself to be thankful that he got to live again even if it was just for a little while.

Because of death, he realized that life was precious and that he had to make the most of it while he was still here.

"Good morning, Gray Fullbuster."

With a jolt, he turned towards the source.

"Y—You..."

She looked at him with midnight-black eyes. "What is it? Is something wrong?"

He blinked rapidly as if not quite believing what he was seeing. "What... are you wearing...?"

"This?" She gestured to the Mavis Academy's school uniform for girls which consisted of a white sleeved blouse, a black vest, a dark-blue ribbon above the chest, and a black (a shade lighter than the vest) skirt. "It's your school's uniform, isn't it?"

He gaped at her. "Wait... You're going to be in my school?! How... How did you—"

She gave a quiet sigh. "I told you, didn't I? That I should be by your side. And to do that, I have to be a student in your school."

"...Hey, you've gotten considerably less formal."

"It's thanks to this world's books," she intoned. "It seems that talking casually is a must for people your age."

"Of course it is," he said almost absently. "We're usually really carefree, you know."

She seemed to be processing the information carefully. "...From what I gather, you humans sure are complex and peculiar."

He shrugged. "It just goes like that. Anyway..." He looked at her with something in his eyes. "It just came to me, so... Do you know who killed me?"

She shook her head. "I'm afraid not. I am only given background information. I am not informed of the cause of death or who or what caused it."

He frowned at this. "I didn't get a good look, but I'm sure it's a guy. Or a girl. I don't know."

Her impetuous gaze seemed to pierce at him. "If you want to find out who your killer is, you might as well come up with a plan."

"I've already thought about it... First, I'm going to attend school like nothing ever happened, then I'm going to subtly ask the teachers if anyone was absent on the day I was killed. I'm sure that the murderer's my classmate judging from how..." His voice slowly trailed off as his eyes grew as wide as saucers.

She watched him with a steady gaze. "Judging from how what?"

"...how he or she seems to know the secret path I take to school." When he spoke again, his voice seemed to crack slightly in sudden realization. "Only six people know about it. My best friend, my brother, the student council president, my cousin, my childhood playmate, and Juvia."

"Then possibly one of those people is your murderer," Ultear stated.

"...Yeah..." He lowered his head. "It's just that... I'm having a hard time believing it. From what I know, they don't have any motive."

"Then there's also the possibility that maybe someone else knows," she said.

"Yeah..."

Silence lapsed between them.

It was Gray who broke it first. "By the way..." he said slowly. "Earlier, my hand... When I was with my brother... It seemed like it was fading away."

She crossed her arms in front of her chest. "That was a minor side-effect of giving you my soul. Your body was adjusting to a dark angel's soul. Technically, it was malfunctioning."

"It won't happen again, will it?"

"No."

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OUTSIDE GRAY'S ROOM, LYON sighed softly, placing his hands inside his pockets as he passed by.

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**a/n:** here i am! oh no no i didn't forget about this story at all! :D

**p.s.:** i know that there aren't many graytear fans out there (i myself am not really a hardcore fan, but i do think they have chemistry unlike gruvia), but take this for example: i am an absolute sasusaku (a pairing from naruto) fan, but when i accidentally read a narusaku fanfic, i began to lean towards this particular pairing. i like it, even. (but i'm still in love with sasusaku)

okay. now i'm talking too much. (sigh) well, have a nice day, you guys. oh, and stay tuned again for the next equally long chapter.


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